Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has said he is “utterly shocked” by the controversy surrounding the show and its professional dancers.
The BBC competition show recently confirmed that two of its professional dancers, Graziano di Prima and Giovanni Pernice, will not be returning for the 2024 series following allegations about their conduct during training sessions with their celebrity dance partners.
Pernice has denied “any accusations of abusive or threatening behaviour” and said he is “cooperating fully with the ongoing BBC investigation”, while di Prima has said he “deeply regrets the events that led to my departure from Strictly“.
Discussing the controversy during a recent appearance on This Morning, Craig reiterated previous comments and said he “knew nothing” until the allegations were first reported, as the “judges are very separate” from the dancers.
“When the story erupted and came out in the press, I was shocked, along with all the other judges,” he continued.
“I couldn’t quite believe it because we meet the pros and we meet the celebs on occasion throughout the show, but we’re very separate, we’re on level two, and for obvious reasons we shouldn’t be talking to them or gearing them up before the show as judges, so we take that part of it seriously.”
Craig added that the judges “have nothing to do whatsoever with their training” and added that they “don’t even see the camera rehearsals on the Fridays, we literally come in on a Saturday, judge what we see and then it’s done”.
Craig continued by saying he wants the “investigation to be over” so he can “find out the truth” for himself.
“It’s really hard to pass judgement or comment on ‘he said this, she said that’… it’s really difficult and it has erupted, he said. “I’m just blown away by the whole situation. Completely and utterly shocked by the whole situation.”
When asked if he feels the BBC is taking the necessary steps to investigate the allegations properly, Craig replied: “Yes, well I hope so. I really hope so for them and their sake and mine of course, and the future of Strictly Come Dancing.
“It is a serious, serious issue and I think it has to be addressed. Putting chaperones in is a really great idea, we have a psychologist, in case the rehearsals are getting too much for you and they have someone to go to, and having a chaperone in the room is having that one extra eye.”
Related: Strictly‘s Layton Williams wants a 10 from Craig for his new role
Former Strictly contestants Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Zara McDermott have all made public allegations about their treatment during training.
The BBC’s director general Tim Davie recently apologised to any past contestants who had “an experience that hasn’t been wholly positive”.
Meanwhile, a recent report from The Observer laid out a myriad of allegations made by former Strictly employees, including one alleging they were subject to sexist comments in the workplace, and another who alleged they were not given clear direction from the BBC on how to register a workplace complaint.
A Strictly spokesperson denied the allegations in The Observer‘s report, saying: “We do not recognise the claims relating to a negative workplace culture – or that there are flaws in our whistleblowing process.”
Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022. In that role, Iona wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona now contributes to DS as a freelance reporter.
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